FIRST CITY OF ROSES FESTIVAL OCT. 16-18; MUSICAL EVENT DESIGNED TO BOOST DOWNTOWN CAPE GIRARDEAU

When rhythm and blues legend Rufus Thomas turned 80, the state of Tennessee and the City of Memphis declared it Rufus Thomas Day. A section of Hernando Street in the Beale Street historic district was renamed Rufus Thomas Boulevard.

Thomas, best known for the song "Walkin' the Dog" and for creating the dance called the Funky Chicken, will headline the first City Of Roses Festival Oct. 16-18 in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The festival is being organized by the City of Roses Music Heritage Association, a nonprofit group formed specifically for the occasion. Its members are Bob Camp, Fara McSpadden and Bill Shivelbine.

Camp, a Cape Girardeau musician who has been involved in running Memphis' Crossroads Festival during the past four years, is the chairman of the event. The inspiration for starting a festival in Cape Girardeau grew out of a discussion during one of the Sunday blues nights at the Water Street Lounge, he said.

"Some like-minded folks said, 'We need to do a festival here,'" Camp said.

His first job was to find community sponsors, and he did. The sponsors signed up so far are: Fox 23/UPN 49, the Downtown Merchants Association, C.P. McGinty Jewelers, Riverside Recording, Shivelbine's Music, The Record Store, River Eagle Distributing Co., Procter & Gamble, Rapco, Port Cape Girardeau, Zimmer Broadcasting, Nightlife, Hudson Furniture and Lonestar Industries.

Part of the impetus from the festival comes from the desire to boost Cape Girardeau's downtown.

"We're bigger than Branson used to be," Camp said. "It's a beautiful location. In other locations, a place like this has become an arts and entertainment district."

The first night of the festival, a Thursday, will be the occasion for an awards ceremony, banquet and some performances at the River City Yacht Club. Winners of the City of Roses Festival 1997 Music Awards will be honored.

Those on the ballot were nominated by the Cape Musicians Guild. The guild is not a union but a new organization formed to promote musicianship in the Cape Girardeau region. About 15 people are members.

"It's a way for musicians to unite," Camp said of the awards, which will go both to individual musicians and bands.

Readers can vote for their favorite musicians and groups by filling out and mailing the ballot that appears elsewhere in today's Southeast Missourian.

On Friday, Oct. 17, some 30 bands will perform in eight different Cape Girardeau bars in the Downtown Walk-Around. Many of the bands are local, others hail from Carbondale, Ill., St. Louis and Memphis.

The sites will be The Edge, Jeremiah's, River City Yacht Club, the Rude Dog, Broussard's, Sharky's, Papa Bear's and the Bel Air Grill.

The price of admission will be a $5 wristband.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, two stages will be erected at the foot of Broadway in the downtown, providing continuous music from 3 p.m. and until 10:40 p.m. Admission will be $10.

Kicking the day off will be Carbondale's Boro City Rollers, followed by Bruce Zimmerman and the Shysters with special guest Big Larry Williams.

Thomas will perform at 5 p.m. on the Main Stage, followed by harp player Blind Mississippi Morris, the St. Louis party band called Dr. Zhivegas, and the Memphis Southern rock band Tora Tora.

Among the acts at the Blues Stage will be the Acme Blues Band, Big Larry Williams and Levi ("Ain't Pickin' Cotton No More") Williams.

No alcohol will be sold on the concert grounds.

The organizers are projecting an audience of 1,500 for the Downtown Walk Around and 2,500 for the concert on Oct. 18.

A portion of the proceeds will help establish an endowment at Southeast Missouri State University in the name of the late Doyle Hendrix, a popular Cape Girardeau musician who died earlier this year.

Camp works for the festival but said all the costs of staging the event will be paid before he receives any pay. If the festival is successful, he wants to open an office and start planning the next one, possibly to be held in the spring.

"We're just getting by this year," he said. "And we're praying for good weather."